Last time I wrote about measurement in the workplace, I got quite a bit of hate mail. I could tell you the exact quantity and relative quality of that hate mail, but suffice it to say, that people seem to have very definite ideas about how things ought to be measured (or not measured) in their workplace.
So I’ve beefed up my security detail, and put on my protective cup, and I’ll tackle business metrics again – this time for service oriented businesses.
Let me describe the two opposite ends of the continuum on this silly debate. Way over on the far left hand side, are those people who say, “I’m a lawyer (graphic designer, LR negotiator, marketing specialist, etc.), you can’t measure what I do.” Sorry – I can, and I will.
On the extreme right hand side of the scale are those people (mostly consultants, who’ve never actually worked in any of these jobs), who say, “Measuring service businesses is exactly the same as measuring production-based businesses.” You should throw such people out of your office quickly, before any more of their ignorance wears off on your people.
As with many things, the truth lies somewhere between these extremes — in the less comfortable grey area. You can and should measure service business functions, but it often much harder than simply counting widgets.
In some cases, there are very repeatable and transactional things that occur within a service function, that should be counted like widgets. If you work as a recruiter, you should be prepared to disclose how many resumes were screened, how many people were shortlisted, how many interviewed, and your time to fill the position.
You should also have a quality ranking as to how well those positions were filled that will only become clear after some time has passed. For example, how many of your new recruits quit or are terminated within the first 18 months is a quality indicator of the recruiting process. So are the upward mobility of new hires, and their scores on performance appraisals, in the first couple of years after they come onboard
That wasn’t so hard, was it?
So rather than fire-bombing my office, perhaps you could measure the effectiveness of your current measurements – but we’ll leave that for another day.